Hear My Spark Speak
by sukkazii
Summary: G1. It was Valentine's Day. The first time it happened Jazz thought it was a prank. The second time made him confused. The third time he was determined to know the perpetrator. (Jazz/Prowl)
1. Chapter 1

**Hear My Spark Speak**

 **Chapter 1 of 6**

The first time it happened Jazz had just returned from a day of patrolling on muddy roads. He was frustrated when he walked into his quarters. His partner on the patrol had been Sunstreaker, who had whined about the dirt constantly, when neither of them could do anything about the weather. Jazz was about to go straight in to the washtracks, but then he stopped in the middle of the room. There was an unfamiliar datapad on his berth. Jazz was sure he hadn't left anything on it. Very carefully he approached the foreign thing and scanned it. It appeared to be an ordinary datapad. Jazz took the datapad cautiously in his hand. He scanned it for malware. The scan found no suspicious entries on the device. Curiously Jazz onlined the datapad and noticed there was only one datafile in it's directory.

Jazz didn't want to waste anymore time and opened the file. He glanced through it fast. It appeared to be a poem. Jazz read it more closely and almost dropped the datapad from his hand. Someone had give him a love poem. Jazz read the poem a second time. Yes. It was a love poem. Jazz make a list of bots who would think this was a good prank. The list was long. After that Jazz make a list of bots who could get into his quarters. That list was very short.

Jazz put the datapad down on the small table next to his berth. He should investigate this, but first he needed to go to the washracks. He was filthy after the muddy roads. Jazz was lucky. He had a private washrack. One of the good things about being an officer. He cleaned himself in record time.

The rec room was full when Jazz got there the datapad in his hand. Mirage and Hound were sitting back table and waved him over to their table. Jazz returned their greeting and picked up his rations. He put the datapad down before him at the table and gave his friends a questioning stare.

"Has either of you seen this before?"

Mirage looked at the datapad and took it into his hand. "It seems to be an ordinary datapad. What's in it?"

"A poem."

"I didn't know you to be interested in poems." Hound said.

"I'm not. This was left for me. In my quarters."

Mirage glanced at Jazz. "In your quarters?"

"Yes."

"Someone left a poem in your quarters?"

"Yes. Read it."

Mirage onlined the datapad and started reading. After glancing through it he hand it to Hound.

"Someone give you a love poem", Mirage stated.

"Do you recognize it?" Jazz asked knowing that Mirage being a noble would know more about literature than he himself. Jazz's cultural knowledge was very musically aligned.

"Yes in fact. This is one of Mooncrystal's pieces. It's from one of his less known work. His texts were mostly about the injustices of society. Interesting choice for a love poem."

"But appropriate timing", Hound said and continued when others looked at him. "Today is a Valentine's Day."

Mirage watched him questioningly and Jazz made the connection.

"Valentine's Day is a human holiday which celebrates love. People confess their feelings to their loved ones and bring them gifts. Hey, maybe we could have a party to celebrate it?" Hound asked and looked over at Jazz who hardly needed a reason to party.

"Celebrate what?" asked Sideswipe who walked near their table and overheard Hound.

"Today is a Valentine's Day", Hound answered the red frontliner.

"I don't know. Prowl probably won't give us the permission", Jazz said hesitating.

"I can ask", Sideswipe said getting exited about the idea. "The crew could use some cheering up. Prowl will understand it. Leave it to me."

"You are not one of Prowl's favorite bots" Hound said doubtfully.

"But I know him. Spending as much time as I do in his office getting lectured. I have picked up on a thing or two in the process. Wait here." Sideswipe said and vanished before anyone had time to say anything.

Jazz, Mirage and Hound looked after the red frontliner and wondered what just happened. Jazz was doubtful. Prowl wouldn't permit a party with a one day notice if at all. Sideswipe was wasting his time.

"What are you going to do?" Mirage asked Jazz and pointed at the datapad between them.

"I don't know. I'll go to see Red Alert after this. Maybe if I'm lucky who ever left the poem was caught on the surveillance tapes."

"Red will love the fact that someone has broken into your quarters" Mirage said and smiled wickedly.

Jazz and Houd winced. The Security Director had a well known paranoid streak.

"Do you have a list of suspects?" Hound asked sipping his energon.

"Usual pranksters in the Ark."

"And if it's a real love letter?" Mirage said in a questioning tone.

Jazz shook his helm and the trio fell silent weighting their options. They were finishing their energons when Sideswipe came back with a victorious smile on his face.

"We have a party."

"How?"

"It's a secret" Sideswipe answered to Jazz. "No high grade and the party is over at midnight. Those were the terms. So. We need music. Jazz?"

"Yes. If we have to. Or I can handle the music."

"Good" Sideswipe said and turned. He started to distribute tasks to the bots present. They all accepted their assignments with great enthusiasm.

"It's probably best that I go and choose the music right away." Jazz said and got up.

"Don't forget your datapad" Mirage said in tantalizing voice.

Jazz glared at the spy, but grabbed the datapad quickly. He really didn't want to leave it on the rec room table where everybody could read it. He didn't want to answer the questions that would arise.

When Jazz got to his quarters he put on some music. He set the datapad down and decided to forget about it. Why care about a little prank when he had a party to prepare for.

 **AN:** _This is a 6 chapter long story. I have already written it. It just need to be translated and proofread (my own English isn_ _'t so good, so my spouse has promised to do that)._

 _The title is a variant from Shakespeare_ _'s play The Tempest, (3:1):_

" _Hear my soul speak:_

 _The very instant that I saw you, did_

 _My heart fly to your service._ _"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 of 6**

One year later to the day

Valentine's Day party preparations were in full swing. Aerial bots were attaching pink ribbons to door frames. Bluestreak and Tracks were putting huge paper hearts on the rec rooms walls. Jazz and Blaster were testing the new music equipment. Jazz had requested some new equipment a while ago and Prowl had finally given them the green light. Jazz and Blaster were aflutter and their enthusiasm had spread. This would be the best party ever, but so was every party if Jazz was to be believed.

"Do you have this band's new album? There were a couple of good songs on it", Blaster asked and watched Jazz expectantly.

"Of course", was the laughing answer, "Just a moment, I'll get it."

Jazz gently tapped the equipment and jumped down from the platform. He waved to Bluestreak who looked in his direction. Jazz walked through the rec room door and smiled happily. He almost skipped when he walked to his quarters while humming loudly. He got a lot of smiles from bots in the corridors. Last year's improvised Valentine's Day party had been a huge success and now they had decided to make it a tradition. Optimus Prime himself said that they should learn more about the human culture and what's a better way than to participate in their holidays. The Ark's human reinforcements were of course invited to the party.

The officer's corridor was silent and empty. He stopped at his door and punched his code. The door opened and Jazz walked inside. He headed straight to his music shelf, which was full of music chips. To everybody else his organization seemed chaotic, but Jazz knew where everything was. Jazz chose the right chip and turned back towards the door. His gaze hit his berth where there was a foreign thing. A datapad. Jazz froze. Someone had been in his quarters without his knowledge - again.

Jazz had a strong sense of déjà vu from last year. He had already forgotten the whole thing. He had never found out who had given him the love poem and he had acknowledged it as a harmless prank. Now however there was a new datapad on his berth. Jazz scanned the datapad out of habit and he diagnosed it as harmless. He onlined it, and as he had expected, he had a second love poem in his hands.

Jazz read the poem again and tried to get a clue about its sender. Nothing about the poem stood out. Jazz decided to ask his culture expert and pinged Mirage. He should already be back from patrol. Mirage acknowledged him quickly and Jazz sat down on his berth while he waited.

Jazz didn't have to wait long until Mirage pinged him outside his quarters. Jazz opened the door and Mirage came inside. Mirage looked at Jazz's normal chaos and quickly noticed the datapad Jazz was holding. Jazz handed the datapad over without saying a word. Mirage onlined it and read silently.

"Well?" Jazz said when Mirage had finished reading.

"The style is Mooncrystal's, but I don't know this poem. Odd. I though that I knew all of his work."

"Why would someone send me love poems?" Jazz said anxiously.

"Isn't it obvious. Someone likes you, but is too shy to tell you", Mirage answered lightly.

Jazz hit his helm on the wall.

"It's not that bad", Mirage said considerately. "Well, it can also be a prank."

"Argh", Jazz growled, "and that's suppose to be better, how exactly?"

"Have you checked the security feeds?" Mirage asked changing to professional mode.

"Not yet, but I don't think that the culprit will get caught that easily. Well, I guess I need to do it. I'll go and see Red Alert. Will you take this chip to Blaster. He's waiting for it."

"Sure", Mirage said and took the chip.

This time Jazz didn't smile while he walked. He try to wrap his helm around why someone would send him love poems. Was someone really in love with him? But if that was the case, then why hadn't he noticed anything since last year. Jazz thought about his interaction with the crew, but nobody stood out. If it was a prank, what was the prankster getting from it. Jazz was none the wiser when he arrived outside the security room.

Jazz knocked on the door and waited patiently while Red Alert checked it really was him. The security director took his job very seriously. Jazz was surprised when the door opened quickly. He realised the reason when he entered the room. Inferno was sitting in Red Alert's chair.

"Where is Red Alert?" Jazz asked because it was very rare that The security director wasn't at the monitors.

"Ratchet ordered a mandatory maintenance", Inferno answered.

"Ah. Mine was yesterday" Jazz said and sat in the extra chair.

"Lucky one. Mine is just ahead. But how can I help?"

"I want to check today's security feeds in the officer's corridor", Jazz explained and hoped that Inferno didn't want any details.

"Ok. You can use this terminal", Inferno said and stood up.

"Thanks", Jazz said and sat down. He checked the security feeds for the time frame between when he left his quarters in the morning and when he came back looking for the music chip. It was a three and half hours time frame. The result was negative. Nobody entered his room. But someone had been there. It meant that someone had tampered with the cameras or the security feed. Jazz checked the recordings and his hunch was correct. Somebody had tampered with the security feed at 10:46 in the morning. Jazz cursed.

"Problems?" Inferno asked.

"No", Jazz said. He didn't feel like explaining anything. "I'm ready. Thanks for helping."

"No problem", Inferno said and sat back down in front of the monitors.

Jazz left and moved towards the rec room. He had a party to prepare for. At the same time he would keep an optic on the crew. Closely.

A happy murmur could be heard all the way to the corridor. Jazz stopped at the rec room's door and let his gaze sweep the room. Nobody paid him any extra attention. Everything seemed to be normal. Jazz stepped in and let the enthusiastic atmosphere envelop him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 of 6**

One year later to the day

Jazz was on a mission. He had hidden a recording device in his quarters. This year he would catch the bot who had been sending him love poems. If the pattern continued and he had a hunch that it would. The third time's a charm as humans said.

"Jaaazzz", Sideswipe said and waved a hand before the saboteur's helm.

"What?" Jazz answered and watched the red frontliner.

"Blaster said he needs help."

"Ok", Jazz said and looked at Blaster who was waving at him. "Carry on, I'll come back."

Jazz moved to next to Blaster and focused on the current problem. His own troubles could wait.

The party was ready to start. Jazz tasted his high grade and smiled. Prowl had given permission for the high grade and Sideswipe had exceeded himself. This would be the best party so far, but before it, he would go and check if his trap had worked. Jazz sneaked out and flounced with long steps. He was energetic and felt rising excitement. He was quickly at his quarters. Jazz stopped and sighed reassuringly. Then he tapped his code and the door opened.

Jazz stepped inside his gaze going right into his berth and there he saw what he had expected. A lonely datapad on his berth. In a flush of victory Jazz looked in the opposite direction to a shelf which was full of music chips and strange things he had collected in their years in Earth. With a few steps he was in front of the shelf and he moved the music chips aside to reveal the small recording device that had been behind them. Jazz took the device carefully in his hand and smiled the whole time. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Soon he would know who his mystery admirer was.

Jazz uploaded the files to a terminal in his desk. Then he dragged a chair before it. He should be sitting down for this. Jazz felt his enthusiasm rise as he forwarded through the material as he leaned forth. Soon.

"What?" Jazz said aloud to nobody, when a disturbance-in-transmission signal that the humans used in their television came on the screen. He stopped the feed and leaned backwards. So, his admirer had a sense of humor. What now? Jazz checked the time stamp. He would look through the Ark's security feeds later, but based on last years experience he didn't think he would find anything.

Jazz sighed and moved to his berth. He scanned the datapad routinely and found it harmless. Jazz onlined it and cybertronian glyphs took over the screen. He wasn't surprised when he found a love poem. A love poem that made him feel special. Someone did notice him. He just wished he knew who.

Jazz subspaced the datapad and went to the party. Perhaps Mirage would be able to tell him more.

There was music in the rec room and the party was just starting. More bots came in every moment and a happy murmur could be heard under the music. Jazz leaned on the rec room's wall and watched the bots. Nobody stood out. Nobody regarded him any different than before. Jazz saw Mirage on the other side of the room alone. Perfect.

Jazz walked across the room and took a high grade energon cube en route. He nodded greetings to the bots as he was going by. He sat down opposite of Mirage who looked at him and nodded.

"You got another one?"

"Yeah", Jazz answered and took the datapad from his subspace. Nobody seemed to notice so he handed it over to Mirage.

Mirage received the datapad and onlined it. He was curious. As Mirage read forward Jazz observed him. He noticed how Mirage's optics enlarged and his grip on the datapad tightened. What he had missed?

"This-" Mirage choked on his words. "Do you know what this means?"

"What did I miss?"

"This has references to Earth culture."

"So?"

"So this poem is new. It's written after we got shipwrecked here."

Jazz just looked at Mirage. He didn't understand how that was so important of a fact.

Mirage sighed. "This love poem is unquestionably from Mooncrystal. It's his style. It's written on Earth. It means that Mooncrystal is one of us. It means that you admirer is not just borrowing Mooncrystal's love poems. He is Mooncrystal."

Mirage's words got to Jazz. His admirer was a poet. A suspicious thought come through his CPU and he looked at Mirage. Really looked. The spy was the only one that he knew that took any interest in poetry.

"Sorry Jazz. It isn't me", Mirage said when he noticed the saboteur's gaze.

Jazz nodded. He knew it. The only bot who Mirage was interested in was Hound. If only the tracker would notice it. Mirage was a cultured noble. He could have been Mooncrystal. Optimus was civilized, but he had Elita. Jazz mentally went through bot after bot, but nobody fit the picture. He knew the crew. He should see the connection. Why didn't he see it. Well, he would worry about it tomorrow. Today he had a party and he didn't want to lose even a second of it for worrying. Now was the time to dance and sing. He was Jazz. The party would be boring without him.

"To Valentine's Day", Jazz said and raised his high grade cube.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 of 6**

Ten years later to the day

There was a Valentine's Day party, but the mood was muffled. Yesterday's battle had been heavy and some of the crew were still in the medbay. Jazz wasn't feeling like partying. Bumblebee and Hound from his team were still under Ratchet's tender loving care. Mirage was wounded, but Ratchet had let him go so he could get room for more critically wounded patients. Jazz himself had gotten off with only a few minor dents. Prowl was in the worst shape. Of the others only Tracks and Cliffjumper were in the medbay anymore.

The party died down early in the evening and Jazz found himself in his quarters looking around. He tried to find a single datapad. There was nothing on his berth. Every year before he had found a datapad on it. The night was over. Had his secret admirer quit? For so many years Jazz had found a love poem in his room and now when he didn't get one, he felt abandoned. Strange. He didn't even know his admirer. Why did he feel this way?

Jazz put some music on and fell on his berth looking at the ceiling. So. He felt somewhat gloomy. He never got to know his admirer. Someone in the Ark liked him, but never had had courage to tell him. As years had gone by he had more or less observed everybody, but nobody had acted suspiciously. After the first years surprise he had started to like the poems. They were beautiful and made him feel unique.

Suddenly Jazz stood up fast. What if he hadn't got a poem because his admirer was still in the medbay. Jazz's CPU started processing fast. Yes. It had to be so. In a instant Jazz was up and out of the door. He would take the initiative and look for the poem. He would search everybody's room who still was in the medbay and finally he would find what he was looking for.

The corridors were quiet. The bots were already recharging. Jazz evaded the cameras. He didn't want to get caught. Not now when he was so close. His first target was Bumblebee. The yellow spy would know how to break into his quarters. Bumblebee was also young and maybe unsure in his love life. Yes. It could be Bumblebee.

There was a lot of videogames in Bumblebee's quarters, but not a single poem. Jazz didn't give up. Next would be Hound, but Jazz decided to leave him out. First, Hound was in a relationship with Mirage. Second, Mirage was in their quarters now. So the next suspect. Tracks or Cliffjumper? Jazz was quite sure that neither of them could break into his quarters, but he needed to be sure. Jazz decided to look around in Tracks quarters first. Tracks had a collection of classical Cybertronian literature, but no poetry. Close, but not close enough. Lastly that left only Cliffjumper. Jazz couldn't quite picture the warrior and love poems in same sentence, but he decided to look into his quarters anyway. Sometimes bots had secret hobbies. Maybe Cliffjumper was ashamed of his poems. It was worth looking into. Cliffjumper had a respectable collection of weaponry, but not a single datapad. So that was it. No luck for him today.

Jazz was almost back in his quarters when he realized he had forgot one bot in the medbay. Prowl. He couldn't imagine Prowl and poems in same sentence, but same had been true with Cliffjumper and he did search the warrior's quarters anyway. And Prowl could override any lock in the Ark. The second in command could also alter security feeds, but could the tactician do it without leaving any traces. Jazz realized he didn't know enough about Prowl to judge that. Time to fix things. Prowl's quarters were next to his so he didn't have to change his course.

Breaking in to the second in command's quarters was quite a serious offense, but Jazz didn't care. He wanted answers and this was the only place left. Besides he didn't plan on getting caught.

Jazz hacked his way into Prowl's quarters and looked around curiously. He had never been in the second in command's quarters. The place was abnormally clean. One wall was covered by shelfs. And those were full of datapads and chips. Finally he had something to work with.

Music. A lot of music. Jazz was entranced by Prowl's music collection. He would have never believed that the second in command listened to music, but the evidence indicated otherwise. It was one of the best classical cybertronian music collections that Jazz had ever seen. There were also a lot of old praxian ballads. Jazz was surprised to also find Earth music. Classical, jazz, blues and rock were heavily represented.

After a while Jazz remembered why he was here and he reluctantly detached himself from Prowl's music collection. He gave his attention to the datapads, of which there were many. History, politics, philosophy, and bingo, poetry. Jazz felt how he tensed up. Yes. Mooncrystal. Several datapads of Mooncrystal's works. Jazz took first one and glanced through it. Then he took next one. It seemed that Prowl had the whole of Mooncrystal's works. It didn't meant anything yet. He needed to find poems that Mooncrystal had written while on Earth and he wouldn't find those on open shelfs.

Jazz turned his attention to Prowl's desk. It only took a few steps and he was standing next to it. There were a few datapads in a neat pile on the desk. A quick glance revealed those to be work related. Jazz sat behind the desk and tried the drawers. Those were locked. It was only a small hindrance. After a few minutes Jazz got the first drawer open and found more work related datapads. Why wasn't he surprised. The second and third drawers were the same.

There was only one drawer left. Jazz felt a little tingle when he opened it. What would he find and what would he do if he found what he wanted. No, Jazz shook his helm. The drawer would be full of work related datapads as the previous ones had been and after that he would be back where he started.

Jazz looked at the drawer's contents. Datapads. Last chance. Jazz took the first one and onlined it. Bingo. Poems. Jazz eagerly glanced through the datapad. There was no name in those, but it seemed to be Mooncrystal's style as far he could tell. Slowly he started to browse through the datapads. Occasionally he stopped and read some of the poems. He found a moving poem about the Ark's bots. It was clear that the poems were recent. The poet had described everybody's features and traits accurately. There was no doubt that the poet did know all of them very well. It had never entered Jazz's mind that Prowl would know everyone of them so well. The bot had a good optic for details.

After reading a poem about Praxus's destruction Jazz couldn't associate the poem's writer with the same Prowl who had worked tirelessly and without showing any emotions after the destruction of his hometown. Grief and deprivation was so obvious that Jazz had to stop for a while. Not a single one of them would have believed this. He remembered all the comments about Prowl and his emotional detachment. He had been guilty of that too. How wrong they all had been.

Poems gave a new image of Prowl. A bot who felt deeply and cared for everyone of them. Jazz felt a stab in his spark when he read a poem about loneliness. Nobody knew this side of Prowl. Vulnerable. Sensitive. Lonely. They only knew the strict-laced second in command.

In the next datapad Jazz found what he had been looking for. A love poem with his name on it. The poem was new. Jazz read it carefully. This time he knew who had written it. Now he had to think about what he would do with that knowledge.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 of 6**

The medbay was silent and dark. Jazz didn't care. He knew where everything was. He had spent much time there. He knew where Prowl was. Ratchet had moved him to a private room. Jazz walked with steady steps toward Prowls's room and stopped at the door. He sighed a couple times deeply and then opened the door.

Prowl was laying silently. Jazz watched him like he had never really seen him before. Prowl looked younger in the equipment's green light. His face was free of his typical stern expression. In fact Prowl was quite handsome. Jazz wondered how he had never seen that before. He watched Prowl in a new light and he liked what he saw.

Jazz took a chair from the corner and moved it next to the medical berth. He sat down and waited. He had time.

Prowl woke up feeling light. What? He had faint recollections of the battle. He remembered pain. Someone had shot him in the back. He didn't feel the pain anymore. It had to be Ratchet's pain chips. Prowl hated the feeling. He wanted to think clearly. The internal chronometer told him that it was only four in the morning. Why he had waken up? Slowly Prowl onlined his optics and spotted Jazz who was reading a datapad next to his berth. Why was Jazz here? Then he noticed the datapad that Jazz was reading and couldn't suppress his voice when he recognized it. How had Jazz got his hands on it?

Jazz became aware of Prowl and moved his gaze to the second in command. Prowl's blue optics were watching him and Jazz noticed a shocked face. The expression was there only for a second before Prowl's face became expressionless. Jazz put the datapad down on his lap. The silence was charged.

"You broke into my quarters" Prowl said in cold voice breaking the silence, but Jazz could also hear the insecurity and fear in his voice. The second in command's emotions were noticeable when you knew to look for them.

"It was only fair considering how many times you broke into my quarters", Jazz said more pointedly than he wanted to.

Prowl looked down at the datapad. He had known that someday Jazz would catch him, but he hadn't prepared himself for that eventuality. He didn't want to think about it. They weren't even friends. What did Jazz think about him now? Was he angry?

"I'm sorry."

For anybody else the voice had been neutral, but Jazz could tell the difference now. There was a sorrow in Prowl's voice. The second in command couldn't even look at him. Did Prowl think that he was angry? This didn't go in any way Jazz had planned.

"I'm not angry" Jazz said in a calm voice. "Puzzled and surprised yes, but not angry."

Prowl didn't raise his gaze so Jazz figured that he should take the initiative. Carefully.

"So, you are Mooncrystal?"

For a moment Jazz thought that Prowl wouldn't answer him, but then a weak voice said "Yes."

"Impressive."

Jazz looked at Prowl closely. He knew how to work with the efficient second in command, but the sensitive and insecure poet was new to him. He wasn't sure how to progress.

"I like your poems. Why hide it? You are talented."

Jazz saw how Prowl went all shy on him. This would take so much to get used to. Jazz decided to give him a few minutes time to think it over.

"My creator didn't like that I wrote poems and later I didn't want it to compromise my professional imago. I was an enforcer before, and now I'm the second in command in the autobot army. I have to be professional", Prowl said after a half minute of silence.

"I'm the third in command and nobody comments on my love of music. I sing and dance. Nobody would think you any less of you if they knew you wrote poems. On the contrary. It would bring you closer to the crew."

Prowl looked incredulously at Jazz.

"You have a gift. I-" Jazz hesitated, but decided to tell the truth. "I read your poems. Those you have in your drawer."

Jazz noticed how Prowl pulled into himself. Was he so insecure about himself?

"They were really good. They were moving. Autobots, Praxus, Earth, longing. I think you should publish those. I know the crew would love to read those."

Prowl raised his gaze and looked directly at Jazz for the first time. Really looked. Did Jazz really think that his poems were good? Jazz thought he should share his works with the crew. Prowl didn't know what to think anymore.

"I don't know" Prowl said quietly, but didn't lower his gaze. Victory, Jazz thought.

"It's ok. You don't have to. I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you."

Jazz smiled. This shy Prowl was quite a cute one. Yesterday he couldn't even have thought about using the word shy to describe their second in command.

"So nobody knows? Not even Prime?"

"The twins know."

"What?" Jazz was surprised. This he hadn't expected.

"Sunstreaker was a respected artist before the war and we had the same agent firm. I once collided with him in the office and apparently he remembered that after all these vorns. He and Sideswipe saw me one year leaving your room and evidently decided to go and watch what I had done there and found the datapad. They came the next day and confronted me about it."

"But they didn't tell anyone."

"No, they-", Prowl stopped and thought about how he would phrase it. "They were - understanding."

Jazz watched Prowl suspiciously. "They didn't want anything in return for being silent? Get out off brig free card or anything?"

"No. I had a hard time understanding it myself. They even offered to help."

Jazz thought about it for a moment. On the fifth year the datapad had turned up during the same time he was putting down a twins fight.

"They went to the brig for you" Jazz said incredulously.

"I didn't support that plan, but they ignored me. I couldn't really say no to them."

Jazz thought about what he had heard. So the twins knew. Now he knew.

"I know you don't like me-" Prowl started uncertainly, but Jazz cut him short.

"I don't know you. Now even less than before. But I think that I want to get to know this poet. You have much more than meets the optics."

Jazz watched when his words struck home. Prowl's optics extended and his gaze moved straight to Jazz's optics looking for the truth. The second in command opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. Jazz moved his hand to berth and slowly took Prowl's hand in his. The second in command's gaze move from the optics to their joined hands.

"I would like to learn to know you" Jazz said for the second time. "I know now how wrong we all were about you. I hope you give me a chance."

Prowl watched their joined hands. Jazz wanted that he would give him a chance. Shouldn't it have to be him asking for that.

"It should be me asking for a chance" Prowl said.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes" Prowl said quietly and raised his gaze. Jazz saw a shy smile on his lips and it thrilled him. He hadn't see Prowl smile before.

"You are beautiful when you smile" Jazz said before he realized he shouldn't have said something like that to the shy poet. The effect was instant. The smile vanished and was replaced by the second in command's normal emotionless mask. Prowl tried to retract his hand, but Jazz didn't let go.

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant to make you uncomfortable" Jazz said.

So Prowl doesn't take compliments well. Check. Remember to be careful of what you say.

"It's ok. I-" Prowl stammered.

"I understand", Jazz said calmly and tapped Prowl's hand. "We will take this slowly. I will let you rest now. I'll come to see you when Ratchet releases you and then we can go on our first date together. What do you say about that?"

"I would love to" Prowl said and Jazz saw a small smile on his lips. One of many he hoped.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 of 6**

One year later

It was Valentine's Day again and there was a party. Jazz was already familiar with those, but this year was special for him for one reason. This was his first Valentine's Day with Prowl. They were taking their relationship slowly. He had taken Prowl to a classical concert on their first date. After that they had been driving side roads and watching the sunset on a boulder. There was nothing like a sunset on their home world.

Jazz had managed to get Prowl out of his shell and talk. And Primus it was great to talk to Prowl. They talked about various topics, serious and light hearted and Jazz noticed that Prowl had a sense of humor. The second in command just hardly ever showed it. They were learning things about each other and a lot had changed. He had fought for the right to hold Prowl's hand in public. Primus, it had been a long discussion.

The rest of the Ark reacted to their relationship with different opinions. At the beginning Jazz was irritated with them. Everybody seemed to have an opinion and several of them were negative. Few understood what he saw in Prowl. They said that he could do better than the cold tactician. Prowl seemed to be indifferent in the middle of the gossip, but Jazz knew he wasn't as calm as he appeared to be.

Jazz took it as his mission to build a bridge between the second in command and the crew. He started with small steps. He made sure Prowl would come to the rec room to have his rations and not to stay in his office all the time. Jazz also invited him to the Ark's weekly video night. Slowly the crew got used to the second in command's presence. Jazz started conversations about topics he knew interested the crew and persuaded Prowl to participate. Slowly the crew started to see the other side of the second in command.

To Jazz's surprise he got help from the twins. They realised what he was doing and did their part helping him. Mirage was unsure at first, but he warmed up quickly to Prowl when they discussed classical cybertronian literature. Jazz was sure Mirage suspected that their second in command was Mooncrystal, but Mirage never asked and Jazz never told him.

Jazz looked around. The rec room was full of happy bots. There was music playing and the dance floor was full. Jazz's goal today was to get Prowl to dance. But where was Prowl? The second in command's shift had ended an hour ago. Jazz looked for the familiar black and white frame, but he didn't see it anywhere. Suspiciously both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were missing too. Jazz sensed some scheming in the air, but didn't worry too much. Prowl hardly ever took the initiative in their relationship, but when he did, he left Jazz gasping for air. What ever the second in command was planning, Jazz was sure that he would like it, so he took a new cube of high grade and started dancing.

Soon the music abated and everyone started to look at Blaster who worked as DJ. To Jazz's and everybody else's surprise the lights dimmed and Blaster started playing a classical cybertronian song very quietly.

"This is for you Jazz", Blaster said without trying to hide his smile.

A spotlight appeared on a platform and a familiar figure was illuminated. Jazz almost dropped his energon cube. He hadn't expected this. Prowl's soft voice spread through the room and Jazz sat down to listen. Prowl was performing a new poem which he had without a doubt written specifically for this event. After a few minutes two more spotlights appeared on the platform. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker came out and started dancing to the music. It was a magical moment. Everybody was silent.

After the show ended you could have cut the silence with a knife. Everybody stood in stunned silence until someone started to clap. Jazz didn't see who it was. Soon the whole rec room echoed with applauds and Jazz noticed how embarrassed Prowl was. Jazz waved Blaster to play some dancing music and walked towards Prowl.

Prowl let Jazz take him to a seat. He was abashed about all the attention he was receiving. He had tried to take it into account when he had planned this, but regardless he hadn't been prepared for this. He didn't know what to think. Jazz's touch brought him back from his thoughts.

"Thank you" Jazz said touching Prowl's arm. "It was beautiful."

"You're welcome" Prowl answered and Jazz saw a smile on his face.

"That was quite a surprise."

"It was supposed to be."

"Come. Lets get you energon. Mid or high grade?

Prowl stopped to think. He didn't usually drink high grade, but now he felt like he needed something stronger than mid grade to calm his nerves.

"High grade, please."

After a while some bots started to come to their table to talk, but never more than a few at the same time. The evening went well and eventually Jazz felt the time was right. He send Blaster a ping which was the sign for Blaster to play a specific song.

Jazz took Prowl's hand and asked: "Will you dance with me?" He kept his voice low so nobody else would heard them. He didn't want Prowl to have any social pressure to accept his offer.

Prowl watched Jazz feeling surprised even though he shouldn't have been. Jazz lived through music. It was only natural that the saboteur would want to dance. On the contrary it was a miracle that Jazz hadn't asked him sooner. Prowl could hear an old Praxian slow ballad come to life in the rec room. It was one of his favorite pieces. Prowl felt empowered. If he was brave enough to perform the poem in public, by Primus he could also dance.

"It would be my pleasure", Prowl finally answered to Jazz's question and stood up.

Jazz followed Prowl's example and stood up too. He led Prowl to the dance floor and wrapped his hand around the second in command. Jazz smiled happily. A year ago he wouldn't have believed if anyone had claimed he would be dancing with Prowl of all bots. Now it felt so natural to him. It was so comforting to be near Prowl and even a slight touch made him happy. It was good to be alive.


End file.
